Genius: A Novel

Praised for his evocation of a rural, upstate New York community in In Pinelight, Thomas Rayfiel continues his exploration of small town life in Genius. Kara Bell, whose IQ is off the charts and whose sexuality is firmly in the closet, has spent her youth plotting escape from Witch's Falls, Arkansas. Relentless determination and sacrifice have led to success in the form of a scholarship at a prestigious philosophy PhD program in Manhattan. But Kara's careful plans are upended by cancer, and suddenly she is home again, where she finds herself subject to her mother's suffocating care, her brother's puzzling love life, the local doctor's meddling, and the strong gravitational pull of her old friend and obsession, Christy Lee. Will Kara find health and sanity? Will she learn what really happened to her father? Can she escape Witch's Falls a second time, or will she succumb to the slow poison of local kindness and Snickers Salad?

Written with the careening effervescence of Barbara Pym on crack, Geniusfinds both poignancy and dark humor in deathly illness, family secrets, organized religion, parenting, abortion, gossip, senility, and the mysterious essence of life in seemingly "ordinary" America.

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About the Author:

Thomas Rayfiel is the author of six previous novels, including In Pinelight ("one of this year's hidden gems" - Bookforum), Time Among the Dead , and The Eve Trilogy (Colony Girl, Eve in the City, and Parallel Play ). He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Review:

Kara embodies the wry yet deeply sweet spirit of Thomas Rayfiel's novel. What's remarkable in "Genius" is Rayfiel's ability to sharply depict and undermine the conventional...to make the normal at once utterly familiar, hilariously weird and heartbreakingly poignant -- like life.Ellen AkinsMinneapolis Star-Tribune

Rayfiel is a shape-shifting writer.After the beautiful and mysterious monologue of In Pinelight (2013), hislast novel, this new work presents what amounts to a morbidly funnyconversation. A humorous novel about very unfunny things.Kirkus Reviews

"Old-fashioned intricacies and surprises of plot are high on the list of this novel's pleasures." —Valerie Sayers, author of Brain Fever and Who Do You Love

Both deeply affecting and rat-a-tat sharp, this new work from Rayfiel will entertain all readers. --Library Journal

Book Description Northwestern University Press, United States, 2016. Paperback. Book Condition: New. Language: English . Brand New Book. Kara Bell spent her youth plotting escape from Witch s Falls, Arkansas. Relentless focus and the spurning of all emotional attachment led to the doctoral program in philosophy at Columbia University. But Kara s careful plans are upended by cancer, and suddenly she is home again, where she finds herself subject to her mother s suffocating care, her brother s puzzling love life, the local doctor s meddling, and the strong gravitational pull of her old friend and obsession, Christy Lee. Will Kara find health and sanity? Will she learn what really happened to her father? Can she escape Witch s Falls a second time, or will she succumb to the slow poison of local kindness and Snickers Salad? In Genius, Thomas Rayfiel finds both poignancy and dark humor in deathly illness, family secrets, organized religion, parenting, abortion, gossip, senility, and the mysterious rhythms of small-town life. Bookseller Inventory # AAS9780810132467

Book Description Northwestern University Press, United States, 2016. Paperback. Book Condition: New. Language: English . Brand New Book. Kara Bell spent her youth plotting escape from Witch s Falls, Arkansas. Relentless focus and the spurning of all emotional attachment led to the doctoral program in philosophy at Columbia University. But Kara s careful plans are upended by cancer, and suddenly she is home again, where she finds herself subject to her mother s suffocating care, her brother s puzzling love life, the local doctor s meddling, and the strong gravitational pull of her old friend and obsession, Christy Lee. Will Kara find health and sanity? Will she learn what really happened to her father? Can she escape Witch s Falls a second time, or will she succumb to the slow poison of local kindness and Snickers Salad? In Genius, Thomas Rayfiel finds both poignancy and dark humor in deathly illness, family secrets, organized religion, parenting, abortion, gossip, senility, and the mysterious rhythms of small-town life. Bookseller Inventory # AAS9780810132467

Book Description Northwestern University Press, United States, 2016. Paperback. Book Condition: New. Language: English . This book usually ship within 10-15 business days and we will endeavor to dispatch orders quicker than this where possible. Brand New Book. Kara Bell spent her youth plotting escape from Witch s Falls, Arkansas. Relentless focus and the spurning of all emotional attachment led to the doctoral program in philosophy at Columbia University. But Kara s careful plans are upended by cancer, and suddenly she is home again, where she finds herself subject to her mother s suffocating care, her brother s puzzling love life, the local doctor s meddling, and the strong gravitational pull of her old friend and obsession, Christy Lee. Will Kara find health and sanity? Will she learn what really happened to her father? Can she escape Witch s Falls a second time, or will she succumb to the slow poison of local kindness and Snickers Salad? In Genius, Thomas Rayfiel finds both poignancy and dark humor in deathly illness, family secrets, organized religion, parenting, abortion, gossip, senility, and the mysterious rhythms of small-town life. Bookseller Inventory # BTE9780810132467